Encourage innovative challenge-based learning projects with these hand-selected apps
Challenge-based learning lets students locate a problem and then unleash their creativity in search of a solution. By nature, these projects are collaborative, multi-disciplinary, and hands-on. And what better tool to use to help encourage community fitness or reduce environmental impact than the possibility-rich mobile device?
The website APPitic.com, an app resource site with more than 6,000 apps in more than 300 subcategories, breaks down challenge-based learning projects into four steps: Finding & launching a challenge, moving from challenge to solution, implementing a solution, and sharing findings.
Here, we’ve gathered a handful of apps for each of those stages, broken down further into substeps. You find the full range of suggested apps online.
[Editor’s note: eSchool News has selected these apps, which were originally curated by Apple Distinguished Educators, that may help you meet your instructional needs.]
Next page: Apps for collaborating, brainstorming, analyzing data, and more
Finding & Launching a Challenge
Find a challenge: Use apps that connect students to innovative resources and news sources, such as feed readers (think Feedly), the TED app, NPR, and the magazine-like aggregator Zite.
Brainstorm: Try apps such as MindNode ($9.99), Stickyboard, and Ideasketch to get creative juices flowing.
Collaborate: Consider these fresh apps for getting students to work together through journaling (iDO Notepad), and making checklists (Wunderlist).
From Challenge to Solution
Mindmap: iBrainstorm and Popplet can help organize thoughts.
Research: InstaPaper ($3.99) saves webpages for offline viewing; Wikipedia Mobile can be invaluable on-the-go.
Polling/Surveying: Polls Online, PollDaddy, and Socrative might help gather responses.
Next page: Analyze data and share results with these apps
Solution implementation
Project management: Apps such as gTasks/GoTasks and Weave, which can even help balance money, are solid organizers to keep students on task.
Data Analysis: Roambi Analytics turns spreadsheet and other data into visuals and charts.
Sharing Findings
Solution presentation: Encourgae students to creatively present their findings with apps such as Prezi, iMovie, or Haiku Deck. Or share photos taken during the process using Nostalgio ($1) or Frametastic.
Reflection: Have students create books (Scribble Press, $2.99) or record their thoughts via audio (VoiceThread; Audioboom)
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